Conservative media used the story to justify new anti-LGBT “bathroom laws” which claim that allowing people to use the bathroom of their identified gender would make children accessible to sexual predators.

Several conservative news outlets, like Breitbart, shared the recent story of a Pennsylvania man who was arrested for filming young girls inside of a store’s bathroom. Conservative media used the story to justify new anti-LGBT “bathroom laws” which claim that allowing people to use the bathroom of their identified gender would make children accessible to sexual predators.

What many readers don’t know is that the Pennsylvania arrest was completely unrelated to transgender issues.

James Thomas Shoemaker, 19, was arrested after taking pictures of women and young girls while hiding in a bathroom stall. Shoemaker never claimed to be transgender, and even if he did, his actions would still be explicitly illegal.

Filming individuals in a bathroom is illegal in nearly every jurisdiction, as the act violates their reasonable expectation of privacy. Although many anti-LGBT lawmakers and pundits believe that privacy would be at risk if “men” could use women’s bathrooms, there is no evidence to support that claim.

It's starting. Just an example of what's on its way with this new bathroom situation. More to come.for sure. https://t.co/kECOWrjPJC

Snopes.com, a popular site that debunks urban legends, media myths, and hoaxes, lookedat the Pennsylvania arrest and pointed out that Shoemaker never made any claims that he was transgender and that the specific case is completely unrelated to new transgender bathroom laws and policies. Snopes also referenced several other cases that conservatives use to critique new bathroom laws, and debunked all of them. Overall, the right wing viral story was rated as “Mostly False.”

Via Snopes.com

Claims that such behavior was a result of transgender individuals using bathrooms were easily disproved. Incidents of the same (illegal) nature occurred at leasttwo times in 2011, again in 2012, and another threetimes in 2013. In all cases, the incidents made the news because filming people in bathrooms without their knowledge or consent was (and remains) illegal.

In fact, most transgender activists are not pushing for biologically-born men to use women’s bathrooms (and vice versa), but for private bathrooms that could safely and comfortable accommodate anyone of any gender.

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Nicole Besser

April 2, 2017 at 9:02 pm

Why can’t you asshats figure out that predators seek opportunity. You folks just kicked open the door of opportunity. With these laws you can’t question a man entering the women’s room. Is there a gender neutral bathroom available? There damn well fucking should be. Nobody complaining about this is worried about “actual” transgendered people. Exactly, this has been happening since before the transgender laws. Now it is even easier. How about you just get off your fucking delusional high horse and make all the damned bathrooms single entry or family bathrooms so everyone can be safe. Here we go a child photographed by a pervert just allowed to stroll in. I guess next you’ll say she wasn’t really hurt. Good fucking jobs libs. Yeah it was already against the law but guts like him don’t care and you keep fighting t make it easier for them. Christ a man crawled in a port a potty to look at women as they deficated all over him just to get his rocks off but they wouldn’t say they identify as a woman to do it too. Fucking dense.